Packers Vs. Bills: First Impressions – 2014 Game 14

Packers James Starks vs. Bills

Green Bay Packers vs. Buffalo Bills:  2014 Game 14 (Packers 13, Bills 21)

As always, this post it what it says it is, unfiltered initial reactions as the game progresses. I always find it entertaining to compare initial impressions from the heat of the moment with more measured thoughts with time to think about it.  Everything is up for discussion.

 

GAME NOTES:

The NFL leaders in QB Sacks, the Bills will provide a true test for this Packers offensive line that has been getting a lot of praise this season.

Packers currently have an 18ppg disparity in points scored between playing at home versus on the road, by far the largest in the NFL.

The Packers have never beaten the Bills in Buffalo.

Buffalo defense is the most penalized in the NFL – not surprising for a Jium Schwartz led defense.

No surprises with the inactive list today.

 

Today’s captains will be G T.J. Lang(offense), LB Clay Matthews (defense) and DB Micah Hyde (special teams).

 

Inactives for today’s game:

Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
16 Scott Tolzien
31 CB Davon House
54 LB Carl Bradford
72 C Garth Gerhart
80 TE Justin Perillo
83 WR Jeff Janis
99 DT Bruce Gaston

Buffalo Bills
25 S Da’Norris Searcy
38 FB Frank Summers
58 LB Randell Johnson
71 T Cyrus Kouandjio
80 WR Deonte Thompson
89 TE Chris Gragg
92 DE Jarius Wynn

 

Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:

Atlanta game , first half vs second half:  My biggeest concern going in to the game was the start of the game – would we be ready and get out to a fast start.  We knocked that out of the park. Negative was we didn’t finish it in the second half, especially on Defense. We ran into a hot quarterback and receiver.

“Balmy” 40 degress in Buffalo: It’s like Green Bay in December , if you go up there and it’s only 40 degrees, you’re doing cartwheels.

Davon House injury: He’s responded very well this week- I have to think he will be back sooner rather than later

Lacy & Starks: We love playing with both of these guys, one-two punch. We’ve gone about it a little differently each game.

Buffalo defense: Excellent DL, starts up front with them, high draft picks. Linebackers – I like their linebackers, didn’t know much about them until watching tape this week. Physical, downhill players. Very agressive secondary. It’s a physical group.

Schwartz schemes: Very similar – there’s a lot of carryover.

Pressure w/o blitzing: That’s the strength of their personnel.

Kyle Orton: Good football player. He’s played well against us with Chicago, Denver, Kansas City. Old scheool preparation guy. Tough QB.

 

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Packers vs. Bills – First Impressions – First Half:

Packers win the toss and elect to receive.

Eddie Lacy hurting people already. Second play, second carry, DB that tackled him is not getting up. Trainers on the field. His arm hit Lacy’s knee and bounced off like it was made of rubber.

Quarless drops a 3rd down pass from Rodgers and the Packers have to punt.

AJ Hawk back as a starter in base 3-4D to start the game.

Packers stop Bills on 3rd and one as DL gets great penetration and Hawk comes around to get credit for the tackle.

Packers three and out, Bills with ball at the 50. Packers’ D comes up big. Defensive battle so far.

Rodgers and Packers WRs are NOT on the same page so far. Something’s very wrong. Rodgers currently 2 of 9 for 12 yards.

Packers DL kicking the Bills OL ass so far…

Bill secondary not giving WRs any space. Personally, I’d be running the ball more the way things have started out here.

Buffalo offense no threat, so special teams and turnovers their best chance to score points. Bills’ 75yd punt return TD exactly what they needed.

McCarthy listens to my suggestion and starts running the ball. Lacy with several big gains. In the Red Zone now. Not like the Bills had shown ability to stop the run. Duh…

Score at end of 1st quarter:   GB 3 Buf 7

Bills with a very fortunate drive. Orton throws up a wounded duck that Watkins somehow comes down with, Clinton-Dix misses a sure tackle for a loss and Bills get a 10 yard gain. Woods pushes off on Shields and gets away with it. Packers D steps up again and holds Buffalo to a FG.

Jordy with the defensive play prevents the pick six. Huge play.

Davante Adams looking like a thoroughly overmatched rookie against this Buffalo secondary.

Said it before and Packers scored running Lacy. Will say it again. The Bills have not shown they can stop the run. Stop forcing passes.

Special teams. Ugh…

There better be a tongue-lashing in store from Mike McCarthy at halftime.

Anyone else have the feeling the Bills have a little bounty program going for intercepting Rodgers? Jumping routes like mad.

On the plus side, the Packers defense has been money, except for that one drive, but Bills got some lucky plays on that one.

 

Score at end of 1st half:   GB 10 Buf 10

 

Packers vs. Bills- First Impressions – Second Half:

Right now, I’m more in the Packers offense is playing poorly camp than the Bills defense is playing great camp. But that could change…

Rodgers hasn’t been sacked and hasn’t even been pressured much either. That’s what makes his numbers so surprising.

Not much use of the tight ends since the very early Quarless drop. Not one completion, I believe. Some TE catches would be a big help here.

Baktiari holding penalty negates a Lacy first down, Packers end up punting again. Sixth punt today.

Well, Bacarri Rambo wins the INT pool. Rodgers finally picked off. Lots of near misses today.

Penalty and huge sack by Matthews takes the Bills out of field goal range.

OMG Nelson, right in your hands. Would have been a 94 yd TD…

 

Score at end of 3rd quarter:   GB 10 Buf 16

When something like that Nelson drop happens, you have to question if it’s just not meant to be today. brutal.

Double disaster. Rambo picks off a ball off of xxx hands and then Bulaga down on the ground. And then immediate commercial so we have to sit in panic mode. No mention of Bulaga until plays later when they show him walking to the locker room. Great job, FOX.

Bulaga blind-side on the INT return. Concussion symptoms.

McCarthy livid on sidelines. Probably not for one specific reason. Just an awful day.

Huge gain by Lacy negated by holding on Sitton. McCarthy after seeing the replay jumps as high as is is capable of with a “How the F* is that holding?!?!” Don’t think I’ve ever seen him this mad.

If the Packers pull this out, Randall Cobb will be the MVP.

4:50 left, up to Packers D now to hold and get Rodgers the ball back.

Bills convert a big 3rd down after taking a timeout and coming out in a formation that totally confuses the Packers secondary. Orton had his choice of open receivers.

That blocked field goal a huge factor right now. Packers need to travel 90+ yards with 2 min and no timeouts.

First play – SAFETY. That’s all folks…

 

Final Score:  GB 13 Buf 21

 

Final Thoughts:

Fuzzy Thurston passed away today. Rest in peace Fuzz, you will be missed.

Davante Adams has shown an inability to master the back shoulder route so far. Always overrunning the route.

McCarthy & Rodgers went away from the run after the first possession or two, despite Buffalo having little success against it. Tactical error.

I’m fairly surprised anytime James Starks catches a pass. Misses so many easy catches.

Play of the game? Jordy Nelson breaking up the pick six or Jordy Nelson dropping that deep pass?

Packers special teams a veritable dumpster fire today.

Penalties, dropped passes, wasted timeouts, bad special teams. What year is this again?

Packers failure to bring Bill’s RBs down, even when tackler is seemingly in control, is pretty embarrassing.

For those that say McCarthy shows no fire (like me), he was scorching hot today. At the refs, at his team’s faux pas, at life in general.

If (this is a hypothetical) we’re going to give the Bills defense credit for what the Packers offense looked like today, then can GB beat the Seahawks anywhere?

What a god awful game to watch.

 

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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85 thoughts on “Packers Vs. Bills: First Impressions – 2014 Game 14

  1. Rodgers no longer has to worry about the MVP, that will take some pressure off of him. They will come back against a terrible team and look brilliant. Everyone will be talking Superbowl and then they get thrashed by the Lions and miss the playoffs. I don’t want this to happen, however, it is a very likely scenario… I wish we could at least do our one and done in the playoffs instead of missing them all together…

  2. Hopes of #1 seed gone. Hopes of MVP gone (JJ WATT gets it). But, unless we lose last two and Philly wins last two, we have at least the #6 seed sewn up. In which case we probably open up @DAL. And if we somehow avoid one and done, we will likely be @SEA next. So a lot was likely lost today. Aaron and Jordy, our two offensive superstars all season, both had off days. This team is not capable of winning when that happens. BUF is a good team. All they need is a QB. So the good news is we need one more win to lock up a playoff berth and the bad news is we are staring at another postseason of one and done. Make no mistake about it, this was a devastating loss.

    1. I would argue that the devastating losses were week 3 at Detroit and especially week 8 at New Orleans. Sure, Detroit has a potent defense and an offense that has the ability to put up points, but that’s a divisional game and you have to win those. The Saints game, on the road against an up-and-down (but mostly down) team, was one that they should have won.

      I agree: Buffalo is a good team, and a potentially great team with a competent QB running the show. We’re focusing on this game as a devastating loss based on when it happened in the season, but it was a loss out of conference. Those other two losses, against beatable NFC opponents, are what could sink the Packers based on conference record in a tie-break scenario.

  3. Very bad day for Aaron and WR. They forget to bring themselves to the game… Yes there was so meny “strange” referees cals, ostly against Packers, but I think that Packers won over themselves… Tomorrow is new day. No we go to Tampy Bay! To get 11th victory of the season! GO Pack GO!

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